English Language Arts Teaching Resources
Explore English Language Arts (ELA) activities, worksheets, games and more teaching resources created by teachers for teachers just like you! You'll find ELA resources aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and ELAR resources that align to TEKS.
This collection of teacher-created resources for elementary and middle school teachers was designed with students and teachers in mind, including differentiated activities and worksheets ready to print and add to your lesson plan.
Each game, activity and more have undergone a careful review by a member of our ELA teaching team to ensure it's classroom — and student — ready.
What Is ELA in Education?
In most educational instances, ELA stands for English Language Arts, the subject that encompasses reading, writing, speaking, listening and language skills development in American schools.
ELA curriculum standards vary from state to state and even school district to school district, but they typically include instruction in the following areas:
1. Reading
In ELA classes, students learn to read, understand and interpret a variety of texts, including fiction and non-fiction. They develop reading comprehension skills such as identifying main ideas and making inferences while building their understanding of vocabulary.
2. Writing
As they progress through elementary and middle school, students learn the skills they need for effective written communication by learning to create types of texts — such as narratives and persuasive essays, research papers, and descriptive pieces.
They also learn to organize their ideas, use proper grammar and punctuation and refine their writing through revision and editing.
3. Speaking and Listening
While English instruction in the US was once heavily focused on grammar and reading comprehension, education experts saw a call to move toward a more student-centered means of teaching that paved the way to today's ELA curriculum ... and to the inclusion of oral communication as a focus in the curriculum.
Through speaking and listening activities, kids learn to express themselves clearly, listen actively, ask questions, participate in discussions and deliver presentations. They also learn to articulate their thoughts and understand different perspectives while developing their critical thinking abilities.
4. Language
Finally, students study grammar, vocabulary and syntax to enhance their understanding of English and how it should be used.
The curriculum includes proper sentence structure, word choice, spelling and punctuation rules. Language instruction also includes figurative language, idioms and understanding context.
ELA as English Language Acquisition
You may have noticed that we said ELA stands for English Language Arts in most educational instances. So, what else can it stand for?
In some schools, ELA is the abbreviation used for English Language Acquisition, and it's the name given to programs created to help English language learners as they tackle the language.
This form of ELA has marked similarities with the ELA described above, as it focuses on helping students build oral, reading and writing skills. However, there are distinct differences as one focuses on educating native speakers and the other on ELL students.
English vs. Language Arts — Why Is English Called Language Arts?
Some of your students may have parents who remember attending English classes as children but are unfamiliar with the concept of English language arts.
How do you explain the difference to them?
The fact is, some districts may well use the term English for what another district terms "English language arts." In other places, the two refer to very different concepts. In many areas, English is the name for courses taught on a high school level, while English language arts applies to elementary level work.
To explain why their children are enrolled in language arts coursework, it may be helpful to break down the various components of language arts — as we have done above — and their role in students' literacy growth.
What Is ELAR?
ELAR stands for English Language Arts and Reading. While much of the country's schools follow an ELA curriculum, ELAR is unique to Texas, where ELAR is an integrated subject that combines the study of language arts skills with the development of reading abilities.
This collection includes hundreds of ELAR activities, aligned directly with TEKS standards to ensure Texas teachers have everything they need for their lesson plans.
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Back To School - Listening Skill Refresh Activity
Refresh student listening skills with a Back to School Listening Skill Refresh Slides and script.
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Read the Room - Classroom School Supply Labels With Pictures
Label where school supplies and equipment are housed in your classroom with free printable classroom labels with pictures.
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Sound Wall Classroom Interactive Bulletin Board
Print a complete Sound Wall designed to help you enhance your phonics program by displaying the phonemes your students are currently mastering.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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10-100 Book Challenge Reading Log Bookshelf Template
Start and track progress through your reading challenge with a fun 100 Book Challenge reading log bookshelf template!
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Story Elements Graphic Organizers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Reading Is Magic! Book Review Brochure Template
Download this book review brochure template based on the theme, “Reading Is Magic.”
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Alphabet Letter Match
A fun match-up activity to consolidate your students' knowledge of uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Free Blank Story Board Template Pack
Use these storyboards to help your students visually represent the key events and changes within a story.
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ABC and 123 Turkey With Feathers Printable Activity
Practice counting, skip counting, and the letters of the alphabet with our ABC and 123 Turkey With Feathers Craft Template.
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Letter-Sound Correspondence Games - A-Z Alphabet Race Bundle
Practice letter-sound correspondence with a set of 26 Alphabet Race printable games.
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Who Is Martin Luther King, Jr? - Shared Reading and Activity
Use this 13-slide PowerPoint as a collaborative reading exercise about Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Narrative Plot Structure - Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative stories.
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Whole Body Listening Poster Pack
Print a Whole Body Listening Poster Pack to highlight the characteristics of a good listener.
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Oxford Wordlist Mats - Words 1 to 354
Use this set of five Oxford Wordlist Mats as a planning tool for high frequency word activities.
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Multisyllable Word List Resource Pack
Print and use a multisyllable word list to introduce your students to more complex words and syllable patterns.
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Prepositions Picture Scene Worksheets
Engage students with this prepositions picture scene pack where they follow instructions to place pictures within five different scenes.
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Kn, Ph and Wr Digraph Picture Cards - Free
Use our Digraph Picture Cards to introduce your students to kn, ph and wr digraph words.
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Student Reading Log Printables
Track your students' at-home reading with this printable reading log.
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Digraph Coding Robot Mat
Practice identifying digraphs with the help of a coding robot and mat.
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Rhyming Word Cards
Reinforce students' knowledge of rhyming words with this set of 30 picture cards.
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Alphabet Playdough Mats for Fine Motor Development
A set of alphabet playdough letter mats to help children develop their fine motor skills and identify the letters of the alphabet.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Free High Frequency Word Lists
Use this set of leveled high frequency word lists which are a collection of the most commonly used words divided into heart words and flash words for teaching purposes.
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Funny Icebreaker Jokes - Task Cards
Start each day with funny icebreaker jokes with a set of printable Back to School Joke cards for kids.
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Find the Verb Task Cards
Help students recognize verbs in sentences with this set of Find the Verb task cards and recording sheet.
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Common Adjectives for Kids - Printable Adjective List
Print your students a list of adjectives to keep at hand when writing to help them use descriptive language.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Poster
A poster to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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One-Pager Templates - Digital and Print
Display learning surrounding different topics with printable and digital one-pager templates.
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Jellyfishing for Sight Words - Kindergarten Sight Word Game
Go jellyfishing for Kindergarten Dolch words with an interactive Google Slides game!
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Fruit and Vegetable - Grocery Store Dramatic Play Pack
Create a supermarket play center with a fruit and vegetable stand-themed grocery store dramatic play kit.
- English Language Arts Worksheets
- English Language Arts Games
- English Language Arts Templates
- English Language Arts Posters
- English Language Arts Flashcards
- English Language Arts Word Walls
- English Language Arts Projects
- English Language Arts for Pre-K
- English Language Arts for Kindergarten
- English Language Arts for 1st Grade
- English Language Arts for 2nd Grade
- English Language Arts for 3rd Grade
- English Language Arts for 4th Grade
- English Language Arts for 5th Grade
- English Language Arts for 6th Grade
- English Language Arts for 7th Grade